Neon Indian
Psychic Chasms
8/10

If an ’80s pop song was further simplified into the blippy soundtrack to your favorite childhood Nintendo game, that twisted candyland would sound a lot like Neon Indian.

Their new LP, Psychic Chasms, is a shimmery fuse of pulsing electro-beats and breathy melodies, spliced with choppy laser-gun sound effects and thrown together in a drug-dusted haze after a string of failed relationships.

The latest project from Alan Palomo (also of VEGA), Indian is a collaboration with video artist Alicia Scardetta, who contributes multimedia complements to Palomo’s jams. Initially hyped as a mysterious duo, the pair’s first three singles created a frenzy on the blogosphere — and like so, Indian’s legendary status was birthed. When Palomo finally revealed his secret identity, both VEGA and Indian had made headlines and garnered their fair share of Internet props.

The album’s dazed, summery sound is easy on the ears, something akin to a sun-warped MGMT album playing on your parents’ ancient RPM-mangling record player. Pop in your headphones, and you risk daydreaming you’re a Yogi dropping acid while screwing around on the turntables.

Squiggly pads and reverberating chants swamp a song like “Terminally Chill” to a hyper-retro degree, and while cheesy keys and stock Casio beats are all the rage right now, Palomo ultimately gets away with it — so well-crafted is his songwriting.

Indian’s lyrics are laced with hard-to-swallow regret, capturing the tailspins our minds can whirl into over missed chances, though they sometimes deteriorate into a series of sighs and unintelligible murmurs. “Should Have Taken Acid With You” sums up the wistful teenage vibe that Palomo attempts to conjur, and with lines like “Touch the stars and the planets too” and “Take our clothes off in the swimming pool,” we yearn for the carefree. Be sure to throw Chasms on at your Monday night kickback or the neighbor’s next backyard skinny dip.